By Earl Zukerman (McGill) and Michel Belanger (CIS)
ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The top-seeded McGill Martlets played 60
minutes of near-perfect hockey to repeat as CIS women's champions
with a 3-1 gold-medal win over the No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden
Hawks 2-0, Sunday, before 1,000 at the Keating Centre on the campus
of St. Francis Xavier University.
Youth was evident for the Martlets as All-Canadian sophomore
Ann-Sophie Bettez of Sept-Îles, Que., sophomore Alessandra
Lind-Kenny of Calgary and CIS rookie of the year Marie-Andrée
Leclerc-Auger of Sherbrooke, Que., each scored to put the Quebec
champions ahead 3-0 as they cruised to a somewhat easy win.
Championship website:
www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/w_hockey/2009
The national final was a rematch of the 2008 title game in which
McGill captured its first-ever CIS banner with a 2-0 shutout over
WLU.
The Martlets wrapped up a second consecutive perfect season
during which they went 36-0 against CIS rivals and became the
second team in McGill history to capture back-to-back CIS titles.
The only previous team to do so was the men's soccer squad in 1981
and 1982.
The McGill women have now won 14 straight post-season duels
since dropping a 4-0 decision to the Alberta Pandas in the 2007 CIS
final and has racked up 54 consecutive victories against CIS
opponents since a 2-1 non-conference shootout loss to Alberta back
on December 30, 2007.
"I'm very proud of the way the girls played all season," said
McGill head coach Peter Smith, who also serves as an assistant
coach with the Canadian national team. "I told them in the room
before the game to keep doing what we've doing all year and we will
be successful. Back-to-back championships feel great, I couldn't be
happier."
"It shows everyone that the Quebec conference is stronger than
most people think," added Smith, who improved his lifetime record
behind the McGill bench to 262-104-27 in 393 games over 10
years."Because of this victory, our league will again have two
representatives at the Nationals next year and that is good for our
league's visibility."
"I can't even describe how I'm feeling," said team captain
Chantal Gauvin, a fourth-year defender from Dollard-des-Ormeaux,
Que. "You always watch the interviews on TV after a game like this
and wonder why they can't say anything. It's surreal right now. We
stuck to our game plan tonight and all (through the) tournament.
I'm proud of all the girls on the team."
All-Canadian and 2006 Olympic gold medalist goaltender Charline
Labonté of Boisbriand, Que., needed to make only 11 saves to
collect her third win of the tournament. Labonté, who last year
became the first netminder in history to play every minute of the
CIS championship without allowing a single goal, gave up three in
the 2009 tourney as she improved her career record at Nationals to
8-1.
"This is a big win for the McGill program," said Labonté, who
finished the season with a 28-game win streak and a 105-9-3
lifetime record, including 53 shutouts, in a McGill jersey. "Last
year was exciting because it was our first championship but this
year was just as good, if not better. It speaks a lot to the team
we had this year."
"Catherine (Ward) and I have to fly to Finland on Tuesday with
the national team so we are going to celebrate tonight and then get
ready for that," added Labonté, who, along with first-team
all-Canadian rearguard Catherine Ward from Town of Mt. Royal, Que.,
were announced last Tuesday as members of the Team Canada roster
for the 2009 IIHF world championship in Finland, April 4-12.
Bettez, Labonté and Ward earned CIS all-tournament honours along
with second-team all-Canadian defender Cathy Chartrand of Lac
Nominingue, Que. Ward was named the championship MVP.
"I'm very excited right now. To win two in a row is a big deal,"
said Ward, who finished the weekend with three assists and
graduates in just three years, as the all-time leading scorer among
McGill blueliners with 33-105-138 in 109 career contests. "The
atmosphere was so different this time around and I couldn't be
happier. There were new girls on the team and we had a great
season. This tops it all."
Fourth-year centre Lauren Barch of Burlington, Ont., was the
only player to beat Labonté in the final, converting a nice pass
from second-team all-Canadian Andrea Ironside of Collingwood, Ont.,
with eight minutes remaining in the contest.
Barch was the tournament's leading scorer with a 2-6-8 record,
while Ironside (4-3) and Bettez (2-5) finished with seven points
apiece. Ironside's four markers was tops in the tournament.
Ironside and all-Canadian forward Mariève Provost of Laval,
Que., a member of the bronze-medalist Moncton Aigles Bleues,
rounded out the all-tourney selections.
Laurier goalie Liz Knox, a junior from Stouffville, Ont., made
25 saves and took the loss.
The first half of the opening period was evenly played but the
top-ranked Martlets dominated the final 10 minutes of the
frame.
Bettez opened the scoring on a perfect three-way passing play
with linemate Vanessa Davidson, a three-time all-Canadian from
Kirkland, Que., and Ward.
Ward hit Davidson at the red line with a long pass and Davidson
quickly redirected the puck to Bettez, who entered the Laurier zone
at full speed on the right side. The five-foot-four winger cut
across to the centre lane, deked rearguard Kate Psota of
Burlington, Ont., and beat Knox with a perfect shot high on the
glove side.
"Catherine made an amazing play and Vinny (Davidson) made a
perfect pass, and luckily it went in," said Bettez, who was second
in the nation in scoring this season with a QSSF record 54 points
in only 18 conference games. The Quebec conference player of the
year ended up with 36 goals and a school record 50 assists in 37
games overall.
The line of Bettez, Davidson and Leclerc-Auger, who was named
game MVP for McGill, gave all kinds of trouble to Laurier in the
final moments of the first stanza.
Knox stopped a difficult Davidson shot off a Bettez pass with
four minutes remaining, and then Bettez just missed when the puck
jumped over her stick at the end of a two-on-one with Davidson.
"We have great chemistry. Each of us brings different things to
the line, skills, strength and speed. We enjoy playing together,"
Bettez said.
The Martlets had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal after 20
minutes.
McGill kept applying pressure to start the second period but it
was Laurier which had the first scoring chance four minutes in,
when a sprawling Labonté stoned sophomore forward Kaley Powers of
Kingston, Ont., with her left pad.
Seconds later, it was Knox's turn to keep a sure goal out as she
slid to her left to rob Alyssa Cecere of Brossard, Que., with her
glove hand.
Lind-Kenny was credited with her fifth game-winner of the season
when she doubled the Martlets' lead to 2-0 at 6:29, redirecting a
perfect cross-ice pass from Rebecca Martindale of Kingston behind
Knox. Martindale came out of the corner with the puck after two
Laurier players collided behind their net.
Chartrand, last year's CIS championship MVP, had a chance to
send McGill into the second intermission with a three-goal cushion
when she was sent on a partial breakaway coming out of the penalty
box with just over a minute left, but couldn't convert.
The Martlets outshot the Hawks 16-3 in the middle frame for a
23-6 advantage after 40 minutes.
Desperate for a goal, Laurier came out with a lot of energy in
the third but couldn't handle McGill's speed, took numerous
penalties and failed to solve their defensive puzzle.
Instead, it was Leclerc-Auger who struck next, all but sealing
the victory with a power play marker at 11:07. The speedy freshman
walked out of the corner untouched and beat Knox along the ice to
make it 3-0. It was her team-leading 47th goal and 94th point of
the season for Leclerc, who set school records in both
categories.
The Hawks did respond 53 seconds later when Barch completed a
perfect give-and-go with Ironside, but it was all the offence the
OUA champions could muster.
McGill finished 1-for-7 on the power play, while Laurier was
blanked on four opportunities.
"It's been quite a ride and is an amazing feeling that's hard to
describe but never gets old," said graduating team captain Chantal
Gauvin, a native of Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., who finishes with a
7-29-36 record in 143 career games. "We started thinking about this
last May and it's been quite a ride."
MARTLET MURMURS: The Martlets are scheduled to return to
Montreal on an Air Canada flight from Halifax, arriving at 12:45
pm… Aside from Ward and Gauvin, the only playerS not expected back
next season are goaltenders Charline Labonté and Kalie Townsend.
Labonté who will be moving with Ward to a centralized national team
camp in Calgary in the hopes of making the Olympic team... Labonté
finished the season with 35 victories overall for the third
straight year, posting a 35-2-0 mark. She tied her own
single-season school record for wins… McGill is expected to lose
only three players when they open training camp next fall with
thoughts of a three-peat and breaking the CIS record of 67
consecutive wins by Alberta between 2003 and 2005.… After the
Pandas tied the next game, they went on to end up with a 110-game
undefeated streak, which ended against Laurier in the 2005 CIS gold
medal game at McGill's McConnell Arena… The OUA champion Golden
Hawks have had to settle for three silvers in the CIS championship
game since claiming their lone title in 2005 with a 4-1 win over
Alberta. In addition to their back-to-back gold-medal defeats at
the hands of McGill, the Hawks were downed 2-1 by the Pandas in
2006.
SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 3, Wilfrid Laurier 1
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING:
1. McG Ann-Sophie Bettez (2) (Vanessa Davidson, Catherine Ward),
11:41
PENALTIES:
McG too many men (served by Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger),
5:24,
Lauren Barch (WLU) body checking, 19:21.
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING:
2. McG Alessandra Lind-Kenny (1) (Rebecca Martindale), 6:29
PENALTIES:
Alicia Martin (WLU) interference, 7:37;
Andrea Bevan (WLU) tripping, 15:54;
Cathy Chartrand (McG) tripping, 16:46.
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING:
3. McG Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger (2) (Ann-Sophie Bettez),
11:07 (PP)
4. WLU Lauren Barch (2) (Andrea Ironside, Kaley Powers),
12:00
PENALTIES:
Lauren Barch (WLU) tripping, 7:23;
Rebecca Martindale (McG) slashing, 8:32;
Heather Fortuna (WLU) tripping, 10:44;
Stephanie Crarey (WLU) roughing, 14:33;
Andrea Bevan (WLU) body checking, 15:07;
Catherine Ward (McG) roughing, 18:07;
Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger (McG) tripping, 19:15.
GOALS (by period)
WLU: 0-0-1:1
McG: 1-1-1:3
SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
WLU: 3-3-6:12
McG: 7-16-5:28
POWER PLAY:
WLU: 0-4
McG: 1-7
GOALTENDERS
WLU –
Liz Knox (L, 2-1, 28 shots, 25 saves, 58:07)
McG –
Charline Labonté (W, 3-0, 12 shots, 11 saves, 60:00)
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
WLU: Katherine Shirriff
McG: Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger
REFEREE: Mary-Anne Gage
LINESMEN: Allison Smith, Molly Simon
ATTENDANCE: 1,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
Tournament MVP: Catherine Ward, defence, McGill
Tournament All-Stars:
Goaltender, Charline Labonté, McGill
Defence, Cathy Chartrand, McGill
Defence, Catherine Ward, McGill
Forward, Mariève Provost, Moncton
Forward, Ann-Sophie Bettez, McGill
Forward, Andrea Ironside, Wilfrid Laurier
R.W. Pugh Fair-Play Award: Suzanne Fenerty, StFX
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL: Atlantic
Time)
Pool A
1. McGill
3. Manitoba
5. StFX
Pool B
2. Wilfrid Laurier
4. Moncton
6. Ottawa
Thursday, March 19
Pool B #1: Wilfrid Laurier 6, Ottawa 1
Pool A #1: McGill 2, Manitoba 1 (OT)
Friday, March 20
Pool B #2: Moncton 2, Ottawa 1 (OT)
Pool A #2: Manitoba 2, StFX 1 (SO)
Saturday, March 21
Pool B #3: Wilfrid Laurier 5, Moncton 3
Pool A #3: McGill 5, StFX 1
Sunday, March 22
5th Place: StFX 5, Ottawa 4 (OT)
Bronze: Moncton 3, Manitoba 2 (SO)
Final: McGill 3, Wilfrid Laurier 1
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Earl Zukerman Communications Officer Athletics
& Recreation, Room 225 B McGill University 475 Pine Avenue W.,
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4 CANADA 514-398-7012
(Tel.) 514-398-1956 (Fax) www.athletics.mcgill.ca
